English 06B Assignment Blog

     Charles Dickens is one of the most memorable writers of the Victorian Era, having written many classics including, but not limited to, A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, and A Tale of Two Cities . While many examples of past popular literature maintained relevance during the time period and current events of the time, Dickens' work remains relevant, and popular, in today's time because of the similar issues and events that occur. In many of Dickens' novels, he provides social criticism towards a class-based society with little morality and empathy towards the lower classes. While there is more equity between classes in modern times, Dickens' works serve as a reminder of human compassion we are to have to the less fortunate.     In the TED talk, "Why Should You Read Charles Dickens," by Iseult Gillespie, he mentions that "to describe a novel as Dickensian is typically high praise, as it suggests a story in which true adventure and discovery occur in the...

    Martin Luther King Jr. was a well-known advocate for civil rights in the US. In the late 1950's he inspired many people to fight against segregation through non-violent practices inspired from Christian beliefs as well as Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violent practices. King's encouragement of non-violence during segregation succeeded in ending the segregation of black and white people in public areas, and still serves as an inspiration to many people today. However, his philosophy of non-violence is not a prominent anymore and it seems as if he is now only remembered for his accomplishments in the past. There are still inequities in society between people of different races and skin colors, not necessarily just white and black people. Segregation still exists, though not legally, and is more of a social construct. Given past successes with similar situations, King's philosophy and practices of non-violence should yield similar results if properly implemented i...

    Carol Dweck  has also done some fascinating work in student motivation and learning. She contends in "Brainlogy" published by the National Association of Independent Schools 2008.  I would say my own mindset leans more towards growth. I find that most of my motivation comes from learning how to do something the correct way and getting a good grade for it. However, I can also recognize when perfection is out of my reach, and accept that I am not at that level yet. In the TED Talk video, "The power of believing you can improve," Dweck talks about the idea of "the power of yet," where she says, "...but if you get the grade 'Not Yet,' you understand that you're on a learning curve," (0:34-0:40). Not everyone can do things at the exact same level of everyone else, which I can understand and also relate to in some cases. For example, in high school, although we did not use the "Not Yet" grading system, the curriculum the teach...